1,806 research outputs found
Developing portfolios for learning and assessment: processes and principles
No full textThe portfolio is a collection of work recording an individual's achievements over an extended period of time. They can be used at all stages of education and professional development and in a variety of ways, to show mastery of subject knowledge, for example, or to help the students develop reflective practice, assess their own progress, and ultimately find employment.
Val Klenowski provides educators, headteachers, teachers, pre-service teachers and students with an informative and practical guide on how to use portfolios for assessment and learning. She discusses and analyses the impact of portfolios on assessment, curriculum and pedagogy and integrates learning and assessment theories with practice, drawing on her extensive experiences in Hong Kong, Australia and in particular the US, where portfolios are growing in popularity
International Teacher Judgement Practices
No full textHuman judgements underlie all assessments regarding the quality of students’ understandings, and such judgements are conceptually complex and elusive. The study of the complexity of the judgement process is in its infancy but clearly warrants further critical investigation. However, what is demonstrated from the wide variety of international teacher judgement practices presented in this volume is that teacher judgement requires a lot more than a set of standards, criteria and annotated examples. Understandings of assessment theory by pre-service teachers through to more experienced teachers, and opportunities for all to critically reflect and consider their judgements of student work, are vital. Teachers are struggling to maintain their interpretive freedom at the local, professional level in contexts where central policies promote standardisation or ‘regulation’ of judgement practice, for accountability purposes
Attending to Students' Learning Needs Using Assessment
No full textREVIEW ESSAY\ud
Internationally, the role of assessment in supporting and improving learning is\ud
impacting on current curriculum and policy developments. This shift in assessment\ud
frameworks from those that emphasize standardized, norm-referenced testing\ud
programmes to those that involve more classroom-based assessment re¯ect the\ud
understanding that assessment needs to align more with student-centred curriculum\ud
based on constructivist learning theories (Sera®ni, 2001). Countries such as Australia,\ud
Canada, England, Hong Kong and European Countries, such as Malta and Latvia,\ud
that have undergone recent curriculum reform, are moving towards assessment\ud
frameworks that encourage the practice of assessment for learning.\ud
Factors that have contributed to this shift include the changing theories of learning\ud
and knowledge about their impact on curriculum and pedagogy to promote active\ud
student engagement with learning. As our understanding and design of curriculum\ud
and assessment have changed so too has our understanding of how learning takes\ud
place. Epistemologically the shift is from a static, passive view of knowledge\ud
transmission to a more active view of knowledge construction that is seen as an\ud
interactive, organic process of reorganization and restructuring by the learner (Gipps,\ud
1998). Constructivist views of learning see the learner as an active interpreter and\ud
constructor of knowledge based on experiences and interactions with the environment\ud
(Klenowski, 2002). This view of learning has important implications for changing assessment practice and helps to explain current policy directions towards assessment\ud
for learning (OFSTED, 2003; QCA, 2003).\ud
The Black and Wiliam (1998a) review of research literature on formative\ud
assessment revealed that the predominant issues were: students' perceptions, peerand\ud
self-assessment, and the role of feedback in a pedagogy focused on learning. Black\ud
and Wiliam (2003) indicate that this ®nding refocused `formative assessment studies\ud
away from systems, with its emphasis on the formative-summative interface, and\ud
relocate[d] it on classroom processes' (p. 628, italics in original).\ud
The two books reviewed here focus on assessment for, and as learning, in the\ud
context of classroom processes. The authors are scholar-practitioners who have\ud
conducted research about the move towards assessment practice that improves\ud
learning and, in particular, emphasizes the skills, knowledge and attitudes regarded as\ud
most important rather than those that are easy to assess (Crooks, 1988). Both books\ud
will appeal to teachers, school leaders, academics and researchers who have an\ud
interest in assessment that attends to students' learning needs. There are ample\ud
practical examples in both books of how teachers are making assessment work to\ud
enhance student learning in their classroom contexts
Towards fairer assessment
No full textDrawing on the largest Australian collection and analysis of empirical data on multiple facets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in state schools to date, this article critically analyses the systemic push for standardized testing and improved scores, and argues for a greater balance of assessment types by providing alternative, inclusive, participatory approaches to student assessment. The evidence for this article derives from a major evaluation of the Stronger Smarter Learning Communities. The first large-scale picture of what is occurring in classroom assessment and pedagogy for Indigenous students is reported in this evaluation yet the focus in this article remains on the issue of fairness in student assessment. The argument presented calls for “a good balance between formative and summative assessment” (OECD, Synergies for Better Learning An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment, Pointers for Policy Development, 2013) at a time of unrelenting high-stakes, standardized testing in Australia with a dominance of secondary as opposed to primary uses of NAPLAN data by systems, schools and principals. A case for more “intelligent accountability in education” (O’Neill, Oxford Review of Education 39(1):4–16, 2013) together with a framework for analyzing efforts toward social justice in education (Cazden, International Journal of Educational Psychology 1(3):178–198, 2012) and fairer assessment make the case for more alternative assessment practices in recognition of the need for teachers’ pedagogic practice to cater for increased diversity
Questioning the validity of the multiple uses of NAPLAN data
No full textAcross Australia NAPLAN data is being used in a range of ways to serve multiple purposes. The validity of this practice is critically examined in this chapter by drawing on the largest collection and analysis of empirical data on multiple facets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in state schools to date. Validity, in this context, is very much concerned with the accuracy with which NAPLAN tests assess the skills or attributes of literacy and numeracy and the decisions that are made based on those test scores. At a time of increasing student diversity and increasing accountability, it is important to explain how by holding teachers to account through the reuse of assessment data for ‘second-order purposes,’ unintended damaging consequences are occurring particularly in terms of equity. This argument will build on an analysis of the quality of pedagogical decisions taken in the schools of this study to illustrate how such decisions constitute a threat to validity
Portfolios: Promoting teaching
No full textThis article is based on the findings of a study that examined the use of portfolios for assessment and learning purposes in an initial teacher education course in the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Progressive refocusing of the research led to an investigation of the extent to which the use of portfolios for such purposes promoted the development of reflective practice and teaching skills. Constraints and supports for the implementation of portfolios were identified through the use of observation, documentary analysis, surveys, video recordings and interviews with pre-service teachers and their lecturers. The implementation process and the teaching and learning outcomes are described. Teacher educators requested portfolio exemplars, more specific grading criteria and more examples to illustrate standards. Six principles that underpin the use of portfolios for assessment purposes, that emerged from an analysis of the research data and findings, are briefly described. An interactive CD ROM and a set of guidelines were produced as implementation resources. Details of these resources are provided
Assessment reform and educational change in Australia
No full textThis chapter addresses the changing climate of assessment policy and practice in Australia in response to global trends in education and the mounting accountability demands of standards-driven reform. Queensland, a State of Australia, has a tradition of respecting and trusting teacher judgment through the practice of, and policy commitment to, externally moderated school-based assessment. This chapter outlines the global trends in curriculum and assessment reform, and then analyzes the impact of international comparisons on national policy. The creation of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) together with the intent of establishing a standards-referenced framework raises tensions and challenges for teachers’ practice. The argument for sustaining confidence in teacher-based assessment is developed with reference to research evidence pertaining to the use of more authentic assessments and moderation practices for the purposes of improving learning, equity and accountability. Evidence is drawn from local studies of teacher judgment practice and used to demonstrate these developments and in so doing illuminate the complex issues of engaging the demands of policy while sustaining confidence in teacher assessment
Assessment for learning in the accountability era : Queensland, Australia
No full textDevelopments in school education in Australia over the past decade have witnessed the rise of national efforts to reform curriculum, assessment and reporting. Constitutionally the power to decide on curriculum matters still resides with the States. Higher stakes in assessment, brought about by national testing and international comparative analyses of student achievement data, have challenged State efforts to maintain the emphasis on assessment to promote learning while fulfilling accountability demands. In this article lessons from the Queensland experience indicate that it is important to build teachers' assessment capacity and their assessment literacy for the promotion of student learning. It is argued that teacher assessment can be a source of dependable results through moderation practice. The Queensland Studies Authority has recognised and supported the development of teacher assessment and moderation practice in the context of standards-driven, national reform. Recent research findings explain how the focus on learning can be maintained by avoiding an over-interpretation of test results in terms of innate ability and limitations and by encouraging teachers to adopt more tailored diagnosis of assessment data to address equity through focus on achievement for all. Such efforts are challenged as political pressures related to the Australian government’s implementation of national testing and national partnership funding arrangements tied to the performance of students at or below minimum standards become increasingly apparent
Honouring teachers' professionalism: reclaiming teaching and claiming assessment
No full textDrawing on Denis Lawton's committment to the idea of teacher empowerment for curriculum development, this chapter argues that the challenge, globally, is to produce a form of 'curriculum-driven' development, in which the relationship between the learner, learning and assessment is kept central. It concludes with an appeal to honour teacher professionalism through educative forms of assessment and associated pedagogic practices
Public education matters: reclaiming public education for the common good in a global era
No full textThis article argues that public education needs to be reclaimed to fulfill its role as a \u27democratising force\u27 to address social and economic inequality and to respect and recognise diversity and difference.
By analysing historical developments in federal policy, funding and economic contexts a case is developed to demonstrate that the role of the state has been dismantled and the public nature of education has been reduced. The factors responsible are articulated and discussed with particular reference to the impact of neo-liberal policy, the \u27marketisation\u27 of education and new public management. Measures such as those taken by Education Queensland that support the development of school leaders and teachers to engage in research, development and critical debate are supported. International examples of how systems have revitalised and supported the public nature of education are discussed. These include more intelligent accountability systems that respect the professionalism of teachers and collaborative curriculum development strategies that engage with all, including those who are least powerful such as the students
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